Nightmare
by Besweet
Summary: After months of running from her brother's assassins, they finally caught up to her. Now Kasumi got to see Hayate's true color.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note:**_ **I wanted to try write something a little darker than my previous stories.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I dot not own any of the characters. All characters belong to Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja**

 **Happy Reading!**

* * *

~Nightmare~

I struggled to open my eyes. My eyelids felt heavy, I forced my eyes to open to try to look at my surrounding, but they only fell shot again. I could feel movements, as if someone was carrying me and I heard voices, weak but I knew one voice very well.

"Take her to the cell and tie her up. I don't want her dead just yet."

"Brother…" I muttered weakly. My entire body felt numb, everything was fuzzy, my eyes grew heavier and my visions became blurrier. I tried to recall what I did last…how they had managed to capture me. The harder I tried the more my brain pulsed. Then it was complete silence as I drifted back into darkness.

I woke up on a cold rock floor. My hands were tied tightly with rope. I didn't know how long I've been out of it and my head was spinning continuously. I put a little force into getting out of the rope, but it wasn't much use. I could hear no sound around me. I was in a dark cell. The only light was the sunlight that barely shone in through the little window. Tears ran down my delicate cheek, feeling hopeless. Did he abandon me here to die?

 _Why brother…how could you be so merciless? I did it for you…_

I wanted to scream for help, though I doubt that anyone would hear me. Now I wished I hadn't pushed away the only person always came to my aid. _Hayabusa…_ I thought of our last conversation. I didn't remember how it all began but he confessed his feelings for me. After months of rejection to try to convince men to live with him, he finally gave up. I told him that I didn't want to be a burden nor put him through this any longer and that he should just move on. He refused, that's when I yelled at him and we began to argue. Oh, I've said some terrible things and now he's _gone._

Suddenly, footsteps approached the cell. For a moment, I felt relief as I thought that someone had come to help me, but I was mistaken. It's _him…_ and he wasn't alone, I could hear more of them, maybe two or three more.

Then I thought, this is it…this was how it will end for me. I raised my head up to force myself to look at him as he stood in front of me glaring at me with a cold glare.

"Hayate…"

The man I used to look up to, the one I could count on to protect me, someone I risked my life for…and what do I get in return? It was all beginning to make sense. If I hadn't left to avenge him, I would never know the true color of my brother.

"Why?!" I screamed at him as tears kept pouring from my helpless eyes.

His face was blank, my voice raised no reaction in him. He just stared at me. His eyes, looked so differently, so cold. Who was this person? What had he done to my brother? Then he began laughing, his laugh sent chills to my spine.

"Do you feel powerful now Hayate? Power has changed you. You are not the Hayate that I once knew, he would never…my brother would never have done this to me!" My trembling lips held disgust. Then blood trailed down my lips when I realized he had slapped me hard across my face. It happened so quickly. My cheek was burning like hot lava and I was gasping for air in shock.

He rose back up, crossed his arms over his chest while staring down at me with those fiery poisonous eyes of his. I thought my mind was playing trick on me, I struggled to comprehend, he couldn't be my brother…

"You did this to yourself, Kasumi. You turned your back on our village." He said darkly. His voice was so calm, an absolute calmness with a promise of swift violence to come. His words were like gasoline that fueled the fire that burned inside me. My fist clenched, burning rage hissed through my body like deadly poison.

I refused to give up so easily, just surrender myself to them. My life was more precious than that. So, I decided to fight back and forced myself up and send a deadly kick to Hayate's mid-section sending him flying across the cell. In surprised, his men quickly reacted, grabbed me hard by my arms, and forced me back to my knees but Hayate ordered them to stop. They drew back a few steps. He walked back towards me, still maintaining his calmness.

"I was going to take it easy you Kasumi. But after that…"

"You are dead to me Hayate. I will never forgive you." My eyes filled with rage.

Hayate smirked in amusement. "I think I can live with that."

He shifted his gaze to his three men. "You know what to do." Hayate then went to stand outside of the cell to watch.

With my hands tied so tightly, there wasn't much I could do, and my hands were beginning to feel numb. They had taken away all my weapons as well. I was thinking of every solution possible and my eyes narrowed to the cell door. They didn't lock it…good,I thought. But how to get out was an even trickier question. Even if I were to manage getting out somehow, were there more of them outside guarding the place?

One of them drew out a whip and began whipping me without any warning. Intense pain went through my whole body. It was unbearable, and I felt like I was going to die at that moment…unless I find a way to stop it, I will die. Then I saw blood streamed down my arms, my eyes froze, locked onto the blood. I gulped in fear when pain intensified…

A smirk of pleasure was on his lips as he watched me receiving pain. I couldn't call him my brother as he didn't deserve to be called one anymore. I closed my eyes and let my mind drifted into another place, a much happier place with _him._ Hayabusa…I loved him too, and I wished I had told him that, I wished I could see him again. Tears flooded my helpless eyes.

 _Fight, Kasumi!_ My inner voice screamed.

I wanted to fight but my body was weakening every second. If I could only snatch one of their kunai off their thigh, but with Hayate paying closely attention, it might not be a good idea. My teeth clenched tightly in frustration. What should I do…

"Master Hayate!" A shinobi ran inside and called after him in distress.

"What is it?" He responded without removing his eyes off me.

"We need you outside."

"Can't you see that I'm busy?"

"This is urgent, Master."

Hayate closed his eyes for a second while sighing in pure annoyance.

"I guess I wouldn't be here to watch you die, sis."

I felt sick within me just listening to his merciless voice. "Go to hell…" I blurted in my weak voice.

He smiled as he marched back towards me. They paused when he approached. He then leaned lowered closer and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. I flinched, but his hand clutched my head so tightly forcing my head to automatically draw closer to him.

"Sweet dream, Kasumi." He rose and walked out, but he paused and turned back around.

"End her." Then continued on walking without looking back.


	2. Chapter 2

I ran as fast as my feet could bring me. I didn't remember having ever ran so fast in my life. I turned my head to look. Were they still behind me? Did I outrun them? I felt a slight relief inside my chest, as I could no longer see them. Still, even though they were no longer in sight, I did not want to slow down and take any chances. I wasn't fast enough, since I could hear his evil soulless laughter all around. No matter where I ran, the sounds followed. I ran until I could not run no more.

After a while, I had run deeper and deeper into the rainforest. I panted heavily, struggling to take another step. I didn't know what day it was, or how long Hayate had held me captured…my body felt light due to my weakness, my mouth was dry, and my lips were cracked. My eyes tracked down to my body that was covered with dried blood, my clothes were ruined and dirty. I told myself repeatedly not to stop. No matter how tired I got I must keep going because Hayate could be nearby. I forced my feet to keep on going, but eventually the pain caught back to me and I was beginning to feel lightheaded making it hard to see ahead. My visions turned grey. _No…keep going._ It didn't matter if my mind didn't want to stop but my body was slowly given up.

I stopped briefly to catch my breath. I used a tree branch to support my weight. Then I touched something that did not feel like a branch, when I looked up and saw what it was, a big fat snake laying on the branch. It hissed, I startled, my feet stumbled backward and I fell to the ground. The snake moved towards me. I panicked, if I faint now…it would eat me alive. My chest was pounding. I put much force to bring my body back up and somehow with great effort due to fear, my energy was automatically boosted, and I continued running. As I was running, a steep hill emerged in front of my eyes. I fell to my knees trying to catch my breath once again. My throat felt like sandpaper that was desperate for water. I'm done for if I keep going on like this. The sound of thunder rumbling from far away startled me, I looked up to see the sky that was now dominated by dark clouds. This mean that I would have to find a safe place to rest for the night and to clean my wounds before the rainstorm arrive. My eyes narrowed down the hill when a familiar sound catches my attention. _A river…_ It was hard to see due to the large trees surrounded the whole area. The only good thing about the encounter with the snake that I could now hear running water. When I tried to rise back up to my feet, my knees shook uncontrollably sending me back to the ground.

What now? I thought, I couldn't just sit here. There could be poisonous snakes or other deadly animals nearby, it wasn't a safe spot and in this shape I'm in, I wouldn't be able to defend myself. Hayate and his men didn't seem to be nearby either. I would have felt their presence otherwise. Frustrated tears burned and spilled my eyes. I felt so alone…with every minute I grew more cautious and scared. All I wanted right now was someone I knew, someone I could feel safe around, and who's shoulder I could cry on.

Hayabusa and I spent a lot of time by the river. He would tell me stories around the campfire at night. It took him awhile to open up to me but somehow with time, he let his walls down. He was excellent with fishing. Just thinking about those grilled fishes made my stomach sing loudly begging for food. I hadn't realized how hungry I truly was until now.

The air was getting cooler and I felt the mosquitos coming. It would get worse at night. I needed to get down there quickly. If I don't get anything to drink soon, I would slowly die of dehydration. I tried again, pushing myself back up with all I could. I was able to stand this time. Carefully, I began dragging myself down the hill while holding on to the trees. My head was spinning, I missed on the next tree making my feet stumbled forward in a speed and the next thing I knew, I was back onto the ground rolling down the hill in an uncontrollable speed.

Finally, it stopped. I could hear my chest beating so loudly... a sign that I was still alive. My back hurt when I moved. New bloods trailed down my arms. I winced while trying to force myself back up. Painfully and out of breath I walked towards the river. I took a scoop of water and drank it. The water tasted magnificent, it was cool and I felt like putting my whole head in it. I scooped another more to clean off the blood on my skin. Itching mosquito bites adding to my misery. I clutched my arms tightly together as the cool evening breeze flew by sending chills through my entire soul. I didn't want to stay on the same spot for too long, it was only a matter of time before Hayate would pick up my trail. I then began making my way out of the riverside, not knowing where I was headed, I just knew that I had to keep on going. Warm tears escaped my eyes once again, terrified that I wouldn't survive the night. However, at this point death was starting to sound like freedom.

The darkness pushed further in, and it was getting harder to see ahead. Hissing sounds were all around me. It could be snakes or other deadly reptiles. Due to the blood lost and the chilling night breeze my body shivered. My eyes sight were slowly giving up again... I stopped and blinked a few times to adjust it. It worked but briefly. I tried to look ahead to get a better view of the dark path, I had to be careful where I stepped. My heart raised to my throat at a tall dark figure standing ahead staring at me in the distance. _Am I seeing thing?_ I hesitantly took a few steps forward to make sure.

"Hayabusa?" I called reluctantly.

He didn't respond. I closed my eyes and adjusted my sight once again. When I look back in the direction, he was gone. I looked around my surrounding like a maniac, south, north, west, and east. No signs of anybody. I was losing it…


	3. Chapter 3

The rain fell heavier by the minute. I have been walking for hours. My body shivered due to the cold. I didn't have the energy to climb up the trees to take cover for the night and with the open wounds on my arms, there was no telling how long I have before the infection get me. The fact that I was still even walking was a miracle. My gut throbbed in pain and I was so hungry I would have eaten anything. Every step felt like a nail bomb exploding in my guts. I sucked in a deep breath to keep my trembling legs together. The rain was so thick that it felt like it went through me. I couldn't see anything ahead as everything was foggy white, though I didn't know if it was thick fog that had pushed in or my sight was failing completely. I felt lightheaded all sudden and before I know it, I was lying on the muddy ground. I couldn't go on, I couldn't push on…it seemed like it was the end of the road for me.

As I laid there waiting for my time to slowly end, all I could see was him, clearly in my mind. I couldn't feel the rain nor the cold anymore. My body was in total shock of numbness. Though my hearing was still quite sharp, I couldn't make out if it was animal sounds due to the rain and the wind, but it sounded like footsteps stepping on the branches nearby, getting closer and closer by the second. It could be a wild predator passing by or coming towards me. It was hard to know due to the weather, because I couldn't sense anything. My brain jumped to the most fearsome thing.

"Kasumi..."

 _A person_ …standing inches away from my face. I didn't have enough strength to force my head to look up to see who it was, all I could see was a pair of black boots. "Hayate…" The only last word I could force out before taking my final breath and surrendered to the blackness.

...

My eyes flung open wide without a warning, dripping in cold sweat and my heart pounded so heavily as if I was dying. My eyes took in every ray of light, blending my sight. The first thing ran across my head was confusion. _Where am I_? I lifted my arms to look for wounds and bandages. But nothing, not even a scratch on. Did I die and gone somewhere?

Then I heard sounds next to me, breathing sound that wasn't mine. I turned to the side. _Hayabusa…?_ He was asleep facing the other way and he was half-naked. I sat up in surprised, and then my eyes tracked around the room. _Is this a dream?_ He shifted towards me and placed his hand on around my waist in his sleep. I stared at him for a good full minute trying to comprehend. I just realized that I was half-naked as well. _I slept with Hayabusa...?_ My eyes grew wide at the thought.

"What time is it?" He mumbled in his sleepy voice with his eyes still closed.

I looked at the clock on the wall and back at him.

"Almost ten o'clock."

He immediately pushed the cover off him and jumped out of bed in a hurry. It left me wondering what was happening.

"I'm late…damn it." He muttered while running back and forth grabbing his clothes and then disappeared inside the bathroom.

I just sat there, not really know what to do or what to think. Did I have a nightmare? But it was so _real_ that I couldn't tell if this was reality or just another bad dream. Then I pinched myself hard on my arm a few times, hoping to wake up somehow.

"Ouch…" It didn't seem to work.

Ryu came out from the bathroom and stared at me strangely.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Huh?"

"You keep pinching yourself…are you okay?"

I only nodded awkwardly as I didn't realize he had seen that.

He was still looking at me strange. He marched towards the bed, placed himself by the edge next to me, and leaned close.

"Did you have the nightmare again?" He asked with a frown.

I didn't quite know on how to respond, as everything was still confusing. I looked down to my fingers, _wedding ring…_ then looked back at him. I thought about the nightmare. Right before I passed out in the nightmare, this was what I saw. Our _future_ and everything I was seeing right then was all I wanted with him. Just looking into his emerald eyes soothed every worry I had, and I have always felt truly safe in his presence. The emotions overwhelmed me all sudden and warm tears escaped my eyes. He got even more worried and wrapped his arms around me drawing me into a hug.

"Tell me Hayabusa, is this real?"

He retreated and looked at me questionably. "Hayabusa?" He wondered as if I have said something strange. "Kasumi, what exactly is happening in your nightmare?"

I didn't really want to talk about it. Instead, I looked away from him.

But he gently cupped my cheek and made me look back at him. "Do you want me to stay home today? I will cancel the meeting and stay home with you."

"No no, if you have somewhere important to be then I don't want to keep you from anything. I will be fine."

"You're the most important to me." He said as he grabbed my hand and kissed my knuckles.

"It was just a bad dream, don't worry." I forced a smile.

"Then why were you calling me Hayabusa? You have never called me that before. These nightmare of yours is getting worse."

I didn't know what to think, perhaps he was right. If I couldn't tell the difference between a dream and reality, then maybe it was more serious than just a simple bad dream.

"Alright that's it, I'm staying home today. I won't leave you like this. Taking care of Ayumi on your own must have taken a great toll on you. I should help out more and you need to rest."

"Uh Haya…Ryu really it's okay, I will be fine." I didn't want to keep him from work. He gave me a look that he wasn't changing his mind. As he got up to leave, I stopped him.

"Ryu?"

"Yes?"

"Who is, Ayumi?"

He stared at me with full concerned in his eyes that suddenly clouded his entire face. He kept on staring at me for a time making me wonder if I had asked something very stupid and by the look on his face, I guessed I have.

"Our newborn daughter…" He replied softly.

My eyes grew wide. I have a daughter and I didn't even remember her existence…what the hell was happening to me? He sat back down on the bed, then placed his hand on my forehead to feel my temperature.

"What's wrong with me?" I asked. "I don't even remember my own child…I'm a terrible mother." I began tearing up again.

"No, this is not your fault. The doctor explained that the postpartum depression might affected your memory among other things. It is my fault for not being here, I have gone straight back to duty after our daughter was born. I should have stayed more at home taking care of my family." Then he drew me in into another hug.

"Thank you for being here." I whispered.

"I love you, Kasumi." He whispered back.

The baby monitor made noises. Ayumi was crying. We both looked at it at the same time.

"I got it, you get some rest." He smiled and left the room to check on the baby.

I sighed deeply and looked carefully at my surrounding. It was starting to get more familiar. I should consider getting treatment for my depression since it had gotten worse. I wanted to force myself out of bed, but my eyes felt very heavy that I just wanted to go back to sleep again. Since Ryu was staying home today, I guess I had a little time to get some extra sleep. Yawning my eyes out, I let my body fall willingly back onto the soft mattress, drew the cover up my shoulders and closed my eyes.


End file.
